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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

READER MAIL

Hello,
I figured if anybody knew on how to help, you'd have an idea.I was working in the garage this weekend and put a nice gauge on the toe of my Road Champs on a piece of squared aluminum tubing. It scratched a layer of the leather back and now its just hanging there. Any suggestions on how to correct this? Do I rip the piece off? Do I try and "glue" it back? I'm near LA. Any suggestions on who might be able to help me with a repair?I love the blog and keep doing the work you do, both online and in the real world.Thank you,SW

Do NOT rip the piece off. If I found myself in that situation, I would get my hands on wood glue (yes, wood glue), fine grit sand paper (finishing grit - anywhere between 220 and 400 should work fine), Q-tip cotton swabs and moist paper towel.

Squeeze a generous amount of wood glue onto scrap card board or card stock. Using a Q-tip, hold back the leather layer and apply the wood glue evenly (dabbing or carefully using brush-style strokes) onto the exposed leather on the boot. You don't want too much glue, but you want to get enough to where when you attach the two pieces together, there is a secure bond. You kind of want some glue overflow ... that's where the moist paper towel comes in. Wipe away any excess/overflow glue - don't worry, it comes right off the leather (but don't wait too long). Once there is no more seepage of glue, continue to apply even pressure to the bonding area - try massaging it together during the process. It won't take long for the bond ... ten ... fifteen minutes. Let it dry over night.

If you wake up and some glue found its way outside the seam, carefully use the sanding paper to even out just that area. Once that's done, I would use your choice of conditioner or leather dressing over the entire boot (don't forget to use it on the other boot) to even out potential discoloring caused by the "operation."

It won't look seamless, but the Mister Freedom® Road Champs look better with age and the scuffing that goes along with it.